


Victoria Grimes I: Found

by bamby0304



Series: Victoria Grimes [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Universe, Character Death, F/M, Fluff, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 05:14:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16847827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bamby0304/pseuds/bamby0304
Summary: Victoria was alone. Her dad was dead and she had been separated from her mum, brother and dad’s best friend for awhile now. She was left to fend for herself, trying to survive.But when she hears the blaring alarm of a car coming down the high way, she’ll ever believe what’s install for her. And she never expected to get close to the red-neck hunter.





	1. The Highway

 

**Chapter 1**

**The Highway**

Sitting in my new home- if you could call it that- eating a tin of beans, I couldn't help but think about the last time I was with my family.

_"Mum, I'm just going for a walk," I called, looking over my shoulder to where my mum and brother sat by the car._

_Her head turned towards me, obviously worried. "Don't go too far, okay?" She knew there was no point in telling me not to go. I would do what I want._

_It had been two weeks since the world turned into hell. I remember the day it all happened perfectly. I had been home on break from college. My brother was at school, while I helped mum around the house._

_It happened so suddenly. One moment we're laughing and smiling, the next Shane bursts through the front door and tells us to pack our bags._

_It was also the day I found out my dad was dead. Shane had been at the hospital, and when mum asked why he left him there he had no choice but to tell us the truth... I was so grateful that Carl- my brother- wasn't around._

_Since then we had slowly made our way towards Atlanta. It's not that it was far away, the only problem was that the streets were dangerous- and the walkers weren't the only monsters on the streets._

_With my mum and I Shane made sure to keep our little group hidden. One time we had bumped into a group of people and one the men had tried taking me with them. Shane had saved me, and from then on, we all agreed that staying alone would be best for us._

_"I'll be fine mum." I smiled, heading toward the trees._

_It wasn't like I was just going for a walk for the hell of it. I actually needed to go. We were out of water and there was a running lake not too far into the bush. Shane had gone off to find some food, but I knew we needed water as well, and mum needed to stay with Carl. So, I volunteered myself._

_I had been too busy filling the water bottles. I hadn't heard the screams at first. But the moment a gun went off, I was no longer distracted._

_"Victoria!" mum screamed before a few more shots went off._

_"Mum?" I called before running back to the high way. "Mum!"_

_When I got to the highway I could see about twenty walkers surrounding the car, my family inside with Shane. The engine was on and before I knew it, they were gone._

_"Mum!" I cried. "Carl!"_

_It didn't occur to me that the walkers would start coming._

_There was nothing I could do now. My family was gone, and I had to take care of myself. So, I ran. I ran as fast as I could... hoping I would stay alive._

The memory was a painful one. I mean you lose your dad, the world goes to shit, and then your family leaves. I didn't blame them though. For all they knew I was dead; and if they hadn't gotten out they would have died.

I had gotten away, thankful for all the track I had done in high school. One month later, I was still alone. I hadn't been able to find a car that worked, and when I found a place to stay I would usually stay for a few nights... so getting to Atlanta had taken longer than expected.

But that was the plan and I couldn't turn back now.

Shane had told us about Atlanta, how it was safe. We had agreed to go there and take refuge. That thought, of seeing my mum and brother again- that was what kept me going. Without that, there was no hope, no reason to survive. If I was to get there and see my family again, then nothing else mattered.

I hadn't expected to get into the city and find it over run.

It had been like my world turned upside down once more, my dreams and hopes crushed. But there was a positive to going into the city- even though there was no sign of life anywhere.

There were cars.  _Working_ cars.

I got in one and drove away until I was clear from the walkers. When I was on the high way I realized I had no idea where my family was. I had nowhere to go. There was nothing left. I stopped the car and set up camp, that way I could warn anyone going into the city.

There were cars scattered along the high way heading away from the city, a bus along the lot of them. After making sure there were no walkers around, I made the bus my new home, going into the city a few times a week to get supplies, but never going too far.

It had been a rough day yesterday. I had gone into the city and had ended up being swarmed by a few walkers. While trying to escape and fight my way back to my car, I had bumped my head against a wall and since then I had a killer headache.

I knew I shouldn't have slept, but it seemed to take over and before I knew it, I was dreaming.

_"Shane?" My dad's best friend turned to me, smiling as if he knew what I was about to say. "You saved our lives. I owe you for that," I said, taking a step forward and looking up at him with hooded eyes._

_I couldn't remember a time where I didn't have a crush on Shane. I had never acted on it, but it was the end of the world, we were alone, and I knew he would take care of me... of_ us _._

_He didn't say anything, just looked me up and down. As his eyes travelled my body, I couldn't help but hope he liked what he saw. It was the end of the world after all, so it's not like appearances were the most important thing to worry about. But I always hoped he liked what he saw, and it wasn't the first time I had seen him look at me like that._

_Leaning down his eyes found their way back to mine, and I was shocked at what I saw. The desire and need there as his eyes held mine; and all I could think about was how those feelings were for me._

_"Are you sure?" he asked, even though I could see he didn't want to ask._

_I nodded. "I'm sure," I whispered, my voice shaky and nervous._

_We had kissed before, many times. We had dated secretly since before the walkers came. But we had never gotten further than a few hot make out sessions, never doing more than kissing. So, the thought of doing more… it was unfamiliar territory for me._

_He closed the gap between us, our lips crashing together._

_I had kissed a few guys before, but Shane though, he was a man. He was strong and powerful, and I knew that he would protect me and my family. I trusted him with my life. So why not with my virginity?_

_His lips were soft and warm, but the kiss was rough and needy. I could feel how much he wanted it, how much he need it._

_His lips travelled down to my jaw line and he started to nibble gently. He groaned as his hands gripped on to my hips pulling me towards him._

_"Shane," I moaned before his lips were against mine once more._

_His hands left my hips and started working on unbuttoning my shirts. My hands worked on lifting his shirt over his head. The moment our lips parted was short but still too long. Shane lifted my legs around his waist pushing me back so I was now sitting on the hood of a car. His fingers worked on the zipper of my pants, moving fast with need and desire._

_"Shane? Victoria?"_

_I pulled away at the sound of my mum's voice. Shane and I had gone to look for supplies in abandoned cars, leaving my mum and brother by our car and tent. I guess we had been gone too long and she was worried._

_Looking at Shane I could see the desire was still there, but we both knew we'd have to finish this later._

_"Come on, I'll take you back," he said, helping me off the car._

_I handed him his shirt, blushing as he grinned to take it from me. Once his shirt was on he helped me do the buttons of mine, his fingers brushing against my skin gently. Before he pulled away though he leaned forward to place a kiss on the corner of my mouth._

_"We'll finish this later," he whispered._

_We headed back to our little camp where my mum stood by the car, my brother lying in the back seat of it. Once she saw us she let a sigh of relief go before coming towards me and pulling me into a hug._

_"I thought something had happened to you," she said, holding on to me tightly._

_I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine mum. Nothing can hurt me with Shane by my side," I laughed._

_She let go and turned to Shane. "Did you find anything?"_

_He shook his head. "But there's a gas station not too far up the road. I can go look around for some food there," he suggested._

_"I'll go to," I added looking at him for approval._

_But he shook his head. "There might be walkers. I think it'll be best if you stay with your mum and brother. Take care of them while I'm gone," he told me, grabbing his gun from the tent._

_As much as I wanted to go, the thought of going further away from my family and leaving them unprotected made me agree with him. I knew they needed me more than he did. So, I nodded and watched as he walked off. I didn't realize that would be the last time I saw him._

I sat up waking from my dream. In the distance I could hear something. It sounded familiar but I wasn't quite sure.

Getting out of the bus and walking along to the divider I looked towards the city.  _A car._   _A car alarm_. My mind screamed with excitement.

I could see a red car coming down the road fast and it was like the world was no longer a dark place.

I jumped over the divider and came to stand by my car which was parked there. I ran to the middle of the road, waving my arms. It didn't occur to me that they might think I'm a walker. At that moment I was just too excited about the idea of seeing another human being.

The car's alarm was blaring, as it sped down the road. I suddenly thought that they weren't going to stop.

But as they neared, it was like they suddenly saw me. The car came to a screeching halt.

"Get in," the driver called. It was an Asian guy not much older than me. I quickly went to my car, and grabbed my bag before getting in the passenger side. "What's your name?" he asked as I put my seat belt on.

"Victoria.” I answered, throwing my bag in the back. “Yours?"

He smiled. "Glenn."

"Well, thanks Glenn."

"You're welcome, Victoria."

With that, he sped off. I couldn't help but smile along with him. At last I had found another human... and to top it off, they had a cool car- even if the alarm was broken.

 

...

 

"Woo-hoo!" Glenn cheered as we drove up a hill, around a rock quarry.

I laughed, holding on to whatever I could. "Yeah!" I yelled with excitement. Glenn looked over to me, grinning from ear to ear.

We rounded a corner, people all over the place. Glenn stopped the car, and all the people came out to surround the car.

My excitement for the ride was forgotten as I looked around at the camp. My heart leapt as I realized Glenn wasn't the only person alive besides me. I wasn't alone anymore.

"Holy crap turn that damn thing off." I heard someone yell as I turned around to grab my bag from the back. It was caught on something, and as much as I tugged it just wouldn't budge.

"I don't know how." Glenn called back, now out of the car.

Suddenly there were a few people talking, but I was too busy trying to free my bag to actually hear. All I got was a girl's voice asking if her sister was okay, and a man telling Glenn to pop the hood.

"God." Glenn mumbled as he got back into the car to listen to the guy. I couldn't help but giggle. "Don't you start." he laughed. "Yeah, yeah." Glenn got out of the car. "She's okay. She's okay." answering the girl.

"Is she coming back?" the girl who hadn't stopped asking Glenn questions, asked.

"Yes." he sighed.

The alarm stopped and I could hear everything better, as I continued to tug on my bag, getting frustrated.

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?"

There was silence before Glenn spoke up. "Yeah. Yeah, fine. Everybody is." another pause before he added. “Well Merle not so much."

"You crazy driving this wailing bastard up here? You trying to draw every walker from miles?" a man asked.

Finally, I got my bag unstuck as I exited the car.

"Who’s that?" the girl asked.

Glenn turned to me. "Oh. This is Victoria. I found her on the highway."

I took a step around the car, the hood blocking my view of everyone. That's when I froze. Standing there dressed in a dark button up shirt, leaning over the car looking into the engine was Shane.

**Bamby**


	2. Reunited

"Oh my God." Shane took a step back, looking me up and down.

"Vickie?" I looked over Shane's shoulder to see my brother standing with a few other people. His face bright and happy.

My shocked face turned into a smile as I ran up to my little brother. "Carl?" I cried, falling to my knees and pulling him into a hug.

I felt another set of arms around me and I looked up to see my mum. "My baby girl." she cried, stroking my hair. "I thought I lost you."

We sat there in each other's arms crying as the others watched.

I looked up and the sound of another vehicle approaching. It was a truck.

"Amy." a woman sighed happily.

The girl from before- Amy I suppose- ran up to the woman. "Andrea?"

From there it was like a movie moment, people exiting the truck and reuniting with their families. It stung, a little, with our dad missing. But I pushed past that pain and concentrated on my relief. I was with my family once again.

"How did y’all get out of there anyway?" Shane asked. I looked up at him, noticing how he hadn't moved towards us, instead he watched from a distance.

"New guy. He got us out." Glenn answered, still standing by his new car.

"New guy?" Shane asked, no longer looking at us. Instead his gaze was fixed on Glenn.

"Yeah. Crazy vato just got into town." a man told Shane as he stood with his family. "Hey helicopter boy! Come say hello." he called to the truck. He turned back to Shane. "The guy's a cop, just like you."

We all turned to the truck, waiting to see who this new guy was. Honestly I didn't care. I was just glad to be back with my family.

The man walked into view and it was as if everything froze. I could feel mum tense as well, as the shock of what we were seeing run through our minds.

"Oh my God." dad whispered before rushing towards us.

"Dad. Dad!" Carl yelled happily as he ran towards dad.

Mum and I stood up and followed. I wasn't sure if I was worried or relieved. But at that moment my body worked on its own.

Before I knew it, I was in my dad's arms, Carl's as well. I could feel mum with us, also wrapped in my dad's arms as he cried. We all cried with joy as we stood there, together again.

 

...

 

Dad told everyone his story as we all sat around a camp fire. Mum sat next to him with Carl leaning against dad. I sat next to mum, leaning on her. One of her hands stroked Carl's hair, the other stroked mine.

"Mum said you died." Carl looked up at dad.

Dad looked from Carl, to me, to mum and then back at Carl. "She had every reason to believe that." he said, wrapping an arm around him. "Don't you ever doubt it."

I couldn't help but look over at Shane. He had been the one to tell mum and me that dad was dead. That he sat there when he died. If it hadn't been for him, mum would never had told Carl.

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened." mum told dad, still stroking my brother's hair, but no longer stroking mine. Instead she just held me close, my head resting on her shoulder.

"Well I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell." dad said. "And from the looks of that hospital, it got over run."

"Yeah looks don't deceive." I looked over at Shane as he spoke. "I barely got them out, you know?"

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you Shane." dad told him, a sincere look in his eyes. "I can't begin to express it."

Shane looked over at me before looking away. "Well don't thank me. I lost Victoria. We're lucky she found us."

Dad turned to me. "I'm just glad you're all here."

"How did you survive that long?" Amy asked me.

I looked at the faces around the fire, hating how everyone's eyes were on me now. But I knew that they would want to hear my story, like they heard my dad's. So, I let the words flow.

"I stuck to the outskirts of towns. I know that's dangerous, but I tried to stay out of sight." I told them. "When I found a place to stay, I'd stay there for a few nights. I couldn't find a car and walking was tough for long periods of time. When I eventually got into Atlanta I had no idea it was walker territory. Luckily I found a car and got out of there.

"I got on the high way and set up camp in one of the buses. That way if I heard a car coming I could warn them about the city. I stayed there for one and a half months, going into the city every few days to get supplies. If it hadn't been for Glenn, I don't think I could have lasted much longer." I told them honestly. "Thank you." I turned to Glenn and smiled. "I owe you, I owe all of you."

"There go those words, falling short again. Paltry things." Dale said.

Over by the other fire a man put another log into the flames, the fire burning brighter. Shane looked over at them, clearly annoyed. "Hey, Ed, you wanna rethink that log?" he asked the man.

"It's cold man." was his reply.

After a pause, once Shane knew the man wasn't going to do anything he spoke up again. "Cold don't change the rules now does it?" he paused before explaining. "We keep our fires low, just embers- so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once." he man said back, not moving.

Shane stood up to talk to the man. I didn't pay much attention, instead I turned to Carl. "Wanna show me the tent, buddy?" I nudged him. "I'm getting tired."

"Sure." he smiled getting up.

"Night sweet heart." mum kissed my cheek before Carl leaned down to give her a hug. "Night Carl."

I stood and walked over to dad. "Night, I missed you." I whispered as I hugged him.

"I missed you too." he said back before I pulled away letting Carl hug him.

"Night mum. Love you both." I told them as I stepped around the fire. "Night all." I called.

There were a chorus of people say good night back before Carl joined me. I followed as he led me to the tent and opened the flap. He let me walk in first before coming in to.

"We don't have a spare sleeping bag." he said as he walked over to a makeshift bed. "But you can share mine." he said sweetly.

I smiled. "S'okay. I still have mine." I gestured to my bag that was still on my back. I pulled out my sleeping bag before looking around. "Where am I sleeping?" I asked him.

"Next to my bed." he said as he slipped under his own sleeping bag.

"Okie dokie." so I spread out my sleeping bag next to his before lying down. "Night buddy." I yawned, curling into a ball, closing my eyes.

I felt a kiss on my forehead and couldn't help but smile. "Night Vickie."

 

...

 

Waking up the next morning, I was sure last night was a dream. But as I opened my eyes, that fearful thought disappeared.

"Mornin'"

I turned around in my sleeping bag to see dad sitting on the ground. "Mornin' dad." I smiled, sitting up.

"I'm gonna go out and see what your mum's doing. I'll see you out there." he smiled back before getting out of the tent.

Beside my pillow lay my bag. I rummaged through it before pulling out some new clothes. I found some faded jeans and a plain white shirt. I pulled out my hair brush and an extra pair of underwear before getting up to get changed.

Once I was dressed I sat back down and enjoyed sitting there brushing my hair. It was one of the many pleasures left from my old life. My long, wavy, deep brown hair fell lightly as the brush ran through it, stopping past my waist. There was something about brushing my hair that relaxed me.

I set my brush down and left the tent. Everyone seemed to be at work. Mum was hanging up some clothes, the others doing similar jobs. I saw dad standing with Glenn watching some of the men pulled the car apart- the one Glenn had picked me up in.

"Thought I'd get to drive it a few more days." Glenn said to my dad, looking devastated at what they were doing.

"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday." dad told him, patting his back before walking off.

I moved to stand by Glenn. "Mornin'" I smiled.

He looked over at me, giving me a small smile. "Morning."

"It's not that bad." I nudged him. "I mean think of all the cars out there that you've wanted to drive but didn't have the money. You've got no problem now." I grinned.

He let a small laugh out, nodding his agreement. "I guess you're right."

"You know I am." I chuckled.

We stood there in silence for a little bit longer, watching as the guys pulled the car apart even more. I could understand Glenn. I had been in the car as well, the rush the drive gave me was unforgettable. If fact I couldn't help but feel bad now too.

A scream in the distance changed that petty quickly.

"Mum." I heard Carl call.

**Bamby**


	3. Meeting Daryl Dixon

"Mum." I heard Carl call.

Everybody dropped what they were doing before running off towards the voices. I grabbed the nearest thing I could use for a weapon before following everyone else.

"Carl?" mum called.

"It's over there." I heard a man say as we all run.

"Dad!" Carl called.

"Baby!" mum yelled.

My heart was racing with panic. "Carl?"

"Mama. Mummy!" I heard a little girl call.

"Carl!" mum yelled. "Carl! Baby!"

"Mum!"

We came to a little clearing where we found Carl and the others. Mum fell to the ground and wrapped her arms around my brother. "You're okay! I've got him."

I followed the men as they continued running. As we came around a few trees it was like the haven we had made became a little less perfect.

There on the ground was a walker eating away at a dead deer. The sounds of it eating the guts were something I'd never forget. We circled it, watching disgustedly. It must have noticed we were there because it left the deer and stood to attack us.

Dad was the first to attack, hitting it with the pipe Glenn had thrown him before. Once he started hitting it, everyone else joined in. I slammed the shovel I had grabbed down on to the walker, hitting it with all my strength.

Suddenly an axe came down, severing its head. I looked up to see that it was Dale who held the axe.

Everyone stepped away from the walker panting.

"That's the first one we've had up here." Dale noted. "They never come this far."

Jim was the one to reply. "Well they're running out of food in the city, that's what."

Before anyone else could say something we heard noise coming from in the bushes. We turned, weapons at the ready as the noises got closer.

When a guy came into view the others lowered their weapons, so I did the same.

"Oh Jesus." Shane mumbled.

The guy looked at the deer, clearly pissed. "Son of a bitch." he walked closer. "That's my deer. Look at it. All gnawed on by this," he kicked the dead walker's body, "filthy," another kick, “disease-bearing," another one, "motherless," and another, "poxy bastard!"

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale told the guy.

He turned to Dale, obviously still pissed. "What do you know about it old man? Why don't you take that stupid old hat and go back to, 'On Golden Pond'?" he snapped. He moved back to the dear. "I've been tracking this deer for miles." he grunted as he pulled out one of his arrows. "Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What'd you think? Do you think we can cut out around this chewed up part right here?"

Shane shook his head. "I would not risk that."

The guy sighed. "S'a damn shame. I got some squirrel." he turned around to show us. "'Bout a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

The head of the walker started to snap its jaw as it lay on the ground.

"Oh, God." Amy and Andrea left.

I couldn't stand there either, so I walked off to follow them. Once we were back at camp we all stood at the door of the RV, it wasn't long before the others followed.

The guy- I still didn't know his name- came out first. "Merle." he called. "Merle. Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."

"Daryl, just slow up a bit." Shane told the guy. "I need to talk to you."

Daryl turned around. "About what?"

"About Merle." he said, still walking so he could stand by Daryl. "There was a, ah. There was a problem in Atlanta."

Daryl looked from face to face before asking, "He dead?"

I could tell Shane didn't want to tell him. For the few minutes I've known Daryl it was pretty clear how unstable he is. But Shane had to speak up.

"We're not sure."

As expected, this got a reaction from Daryl. "He either is or he ain'!" he snapped.

Dad walked forward then, and my body tensed. I just got my dad back, I didn't want him to get hurt. "There's no easy way to say this so I'll just say it." he stopped, now closer to both Daryl and Shane.

"Who are you?" Daryl asked

"Rick Grimes."

" _Rick Grimes_ , you got something you wanna tell me?" the southern drawl seemed to come out more the angrier Daryl was.

Dad didn't seem bother by Daryl's attitude though. "Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him to the roof, hooked him to a piece of metal." I hadn't known about this, and the news even shocked me. "He's still there."

I couldn't help the gasp that escaped me.

"Hold on." Daryl turned away, wiping at his face. "Let me process this." he turned back to my dad. "You say you handcuffed my brother to a roof. And you left him there?” he yelled.

"Yeah." was my dad's only reply as he looked away.

That's all it took. It was like a bomb went off in Daryl.

He threw the squirrels towards my dad, but he ducked before they hit him. Then Daryl charged, ready to fight. Before he hit my dad, Shane barged into him, knocking him to the ground.

On the ground, Daryl pulled out a knife before getting up.

"Watch the knife." someone called, though I was too worried to care who said it.

Daryl was up now. He swung the knife towards my dad, luckily he dodged. That's all Daryl got to do before Shane and my dad had him constrained.

I moved forward, ready to back my dad up.

"Victoria." mum tried to grab for me.

I rushed over to them and fell to the ground, grabbing the knife out of Daryl's hand so he couldn't use it. At the same time Shane got him in a headlock.

"Best let me go." Daryl warned Shane.

"Nah I think it's better if I don't"

Daryl grunted. "Choke hold's illegal."

"You can file a complaint." Shane replied. "Come on man. We'll keep this up all day."

I stood by dad, while he kneeled in front of Daryl. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. You think we can manage that?" when Daryl didn't respond, dad repeated the question. "You think we can manage that?"

With a quick few nods, dad signalled Shane to let Daryl go. Taking a step back Shane joined the others while dad leaned over Daryl, who was still on the ground.

"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others." dad told him.

"It's not Rick's fault." T-Dog walked forward. "I had the key. I dropped it."

"Couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked, obviously annoyed though a little calmer.

"Well I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog said matter-of-factly.

Daryl got up, puffing and grunting. "If it's s'pposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Maybe this will." T-Dog continued. "Look I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him- with a padlock."

"It's gotta count for something." dad told Daryl.

Daryl turned away from them, wiping his face again. "Hell with all y’all! Just tell me where he is so's I can go get 'im."

"He'll show you.” I turned to look at mum. "Isn't that right?"

All eyes turned to my dad. "I'm going back."

With those words mum walked into the RV, and Daryl walked off. But I was frozen. I had no idea where to go, what to do. My world was spinning, and I didn't like it one bit.

**Bamby**


	4. Off Limits

I stood with Glenn, helping the others pull apart the car. When my dad and Shane started to talk, everyone seemed to pay more attention to them rather than what they had been doing, but I didn't want to hear any of it. I just walked off towards the truck where I paced back and forth trying to sort out my thoughts.

As I continued to pace, Glenn came towards the truck. "I gotta move it." he told me, gesturing toward the truck. "Hop in?"

I nodded and walked towards the passenger side while he walked to the drivers. I jumped when the back opened. Daryl jumped in, standing in the back.

He looked at me, I wasn't sure if he was pissed at me for taking his knife or curious as to who I was. But I wasn't going to say anything unless he spoke first.

When the car stopped I got out of the seat and walked into the back of the truck. Shane and dad stood outside talking about guns, but I was too distracted to listen. Once they were finished talking I spoke up, finally knowing what I wanted to do.

"I'm going with you."

They both turned to me, at first surprised before sobering up. "No." they said in unison.

"Come on. I know that place. I've gone in and out of there for the last month and a half. You could use me." I argued.

"There is no way I'm letting you go into the city." dad looked up at me with the look that said there was no way of winning here.

"I'll make sure she stays safe." Shane told him, gesturing for me to jump down.

I rolled my eyes, taking his hand before jumping down. "I'm not a little girl anymore." I snapped before storming off.

 

...

 

"Mum."

Mum was walking towards the pile of sticks and logs that everyone had put together for fire wood. She stopped to turn towards me, oblivious to my worry.

"Where's Carl?" I asked once I stood in front of her.

She looked around before heading towards the RV. "Dale, have you seen Carl?" she asked. I stood next to her, looking up at the old man on top of the RV.

"Shane took him down to the quarry. There was some might bold talk about catching frogs." he looked sceptical.

Mum dropped the sticks on the pile before heading down to the quarry, with me close behind.

Once we were down there I could see some of the women washing clothes, with Ed standing in the distance smoking. I hated that he stood around and did nothing, but there was nothing I could do or say to get him to lift a finger. So, I ignored him instead.

We found Carl and Shane sitting on some rocks, their clothes obviously wet.

"Hey Carl," mum started, with that voice that told you she wasn't impressed. "What'd I tell you about leaving Dale's sight?"

"But Shane said we could catch frogs, remember?" he said back.

She didn't care though. "Doesn't matter what Shane says. It matter's what I say. Go on." she gestured to the path that we came from. "Back to camp." she said before they both headed back towards the camp.

"I'll be right behind." I called over my shoulder. It was obvious mum wasn't going to say anything to Shane, she was just going to ignore him the way I ignored Ed. But I wasn't like her.

"I don't think she should take this out on him." he said standing up and moving towards me. "Are you upset with me too?"

"What do you think?" I asked before turning to walk away.

"Victoria, could you just listen. We need to talk about this." he called.

I turned around. "No. I don't want to hear it. You can talk to your frogs."

"Damn it, Vickie."

"My name is Victoria." I snapped.

"Fine, Victoria. I don't know what you think but-"

"What I think? I'm sorry, let me spell it out for you." I walked up to him, showing him I wouldn't back down. "You stay away from me. You stay away from my brother. From now on my family is off-limits."

"Victoria, I don't think that's fair."

"What's not fair is the fact that you told me-and my mum- that my dad died. And now he's back." I snapped. "What's not fair is that you let us believe he was gone." I said before storming off.

"He's my best friend."

My head whipped around to look at him. All I wanted was to slap him, but I stopped myself. "Stay away from me Shane. I'm warning you." and with that I walked off.

**Bamby**


	5. When Hell Comes Knocking

"Mum I'm going for a walk." I called as I headed for the tree-line.

Before I could take another step a hand grabbed on to my arm and turned me around. I was too stunned to say anything... until I saw that it was Shane that had stopped me.

"No."

"What?" I asked, glaring at him.

"You're not going anywhere." he explained.

Mum came towards us, Carl close behind. "I don't want you going anywhere by yourself." she told me.

"Please?" Carl asked.

That's when it clicked. Those were the last words I had said to them before we got separated last time. I understood why they wanted me to stay by camp now. They were scared.

"Lori?" we turned to see Carol and her little girl standing by. Carol’s lip was split, her arms shaking. "Can you watch Sophia? I need to take care of Ed."

"Vickie can do it." Carl suggested. "I'll help to."

Mum nodded. "Victoria- my daughter- can look after them. I'm still doing the laundry." Carol just nodded before walking off.

Carl grabbed my hand and led me towards Sophia. She was a shy girl, with mousy blonde hair. She was cute actually.

I crouched down in front of her, smiling sweetly. "What would you like to do?" I asked her.

"Can we play hide and seek?" Carl asked.

I turned to him and rolled my eyes. "Really?"

Sophia smiled. "Yeah, can we?"

I pretended to think for a moment before grinning and closing my eyes. "One, two, three-" I heard them both giggle before they scurried off.

 

...

 

"I don't have a sister." Sophia looked up at me while I brushed her hair.

Carl had gotten bored and decided to play with the other little boy. So, I had asked Sophia if she'd like me to braid her hair... of course she agreed.

"Neither do I." I told her, grabbing some hair and starting to braid it. "Can you keep a secret though?" she nodded eagerly. "I've always wanted one." I whispered.

She smiled up at me. "Me too." she whispered back.

"Well do you wanna be my sister? I could be yours." I asked her, wrapping a hair-tie around the small braid I made.

"Really?"

I grabbed some more hair, this time a smaller amount. "Mm-hm."

"Can I call you Vickie?"

"Sure." I laughed, surprised that's what would make the deal.

She smiled and turned around, wrapping her arms around my neck, hugging me. "Vickie." she whispered happily.

Behind us there was some commotion about fish. Sophia didn't seem interested though, instead she looked at them like they were the plague.

"Gross." she told me.

Even though I didn't actually mind fish, I still agreed just to make her happy. "Yeah, eww. They're all slimy and gross." I shivered for extra measure.

She giggled. "But they taste good."

I nodded in agreement, smiling back.

"I uh." Dale walked up to the group, looking concerned. "I don't want to alarm anyone. We may have a bit of a problem." he said before turning to look up the hill.

We all followed his gaze to see Jim up the top, digging.

Shane lead us towards Jim, Sophia by my side holding my hand. When we got to the top, everyone crowded together behind Shane, watching Jim dig. Carol came to stand by Sophia and me, while Shane talked to Jim.

"Hey, Jim." he waited for a response, but none came. "Why don't you hold up, alright. Just give us a second here. Please."

Jim stopped, turning to Shane. "What do you want?"

"I'm a little concerned man, that's all." Shane answered.

A man- I didn't know his name- added, "Dale says you've been out here for hours."

"So?"

"So why you digging?" Shane asked. "What, you heading to China, Jim? What?" Shane scoffed.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not hurtin' anyone." Jim said before he started digging again.

"Yeah, except maybe yourself. It's a- it's a hundred degrees today." Dale noted. "You can't keep this up.

Without stopping Jim spoke up. "Sure I can, watch me."

Mum walked forward, arms crossed. "Jim they're not going to say it so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my son, and Carol's daughter."

Sophia shifted closer to me, and I wrapped an arm around her. On the other side of her I could see Carol holding Sophia's hand while her arm is around my brother.

He stopped again. "They got nothin' to be scared of. I mean what the hell people? I'm out here by myself self, why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?" he asked. Everyone shared a few looks at each other while he went back to digging.

"We think that you need to take a break." Shane said, taking a few steps towards Jim. "Why don't you get yourself some shade. Some food. And maybe, I tell you what, maybe in a little bit, I'll come out here. I'll help you myself. Jim? Just tell me what it's about. Why don't you just go ahead and give me that shovel?"

Jim stopped, but this time he looked different- annoyed I guess. "Or what?"

"There is no or what." Shane told him, shaking his head. "I'm asking you. I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't want to have to take it from ya."

"And if I don't?" Jim shrugged. "Then what? Then you goin' to belt my face in like Ed Peletier, aren't you?" he turned to the rest of us. "Y’all seen his face, huh? What’s left of it. See now that's what happens when someone crosses you."

"That was different, Jim." I didn't even have to look at Shane's face to know he was pissed. The way his back stayed tense, his jaw clenching. I stood to the side and that's all I needed to see, to know how he felt.

"You weren't there." Amy commented. "Ed was out of control, he was hurting his wife."

"That is their marriage. That is not his." Jim yelled, pointing at Shane.

Carol pulled Sophia in her arms, turning her daughters head so she wouldn't have to watch, and covering her ears so she wouldn't have to listen. I rubbed Sophia's back soothingly, so she knew I was there for her.

"He is not judge and jury." Jim continued. "Who voted you boss, huh?"

"Jim I'm not here to argue with you, okay? Now just give me the shovel." Shane reached for the shovel.

Suddenly Jim swung the shovel at Shane, aiming to hurt him. Shane ducked before knocking Jim to the ground and restraining him.

"Victoria, take the kids." mum said.

I grabbed Sophia and Carl's and before leading them back to camp. "Come on guys. We'll go play hey?" I smiled, hoping it would relax them a little. But all I got were a couple of nods and mumbled yeses.

 

...

 

"Vickie what is that?" Carl laughed, pointing at my picture.

"What do you mean 'What is it'? It's obviously a cat." I told him when he just shook his head and smiled I turned to Sophia. "What do you think it looks like?"

She shrugged, giggling. "I don't know."

I rolled my eyes and looked at her picture. "What's yours?"

"You, me and Carl sitting in a park." she smiled. "See? You're wearing a blue dress, and I'm wearing a purple dress." she pointed at the picture.

I nodded. "It's nice." I smiled. "I like it."

She smiled back before her mum came along. "Come on Sophia. Your dad wants to see you." she looked scared and sorry.

I didn't want to let Sophia go. I had spent most of the day with her and I sure as hell didn't want him laying a hand on her. But it was her mum, and I couldn't stop her from taking her. So, I just nodded and smiled when Sophia turned to me.

"We'll see you later."

She nodded, no longer smiling, and stood up. Before she walked off, he wrapped her arms around me in a hug, then followed her mum.

I watched her leave. It worried me, but I couldn't do anything about it. So instead I turned around to Carl. "So, what did you draw?"

 

...

 

"Good fish?" I asked Sophia.

We all sat around the fire, eating dinner. Sophia sat next to me, leaning against me. She nodded enthusiastically, mouth full of dinner. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

I went back to eating, as everyone talked about Dale's watch. I listened, not really understanding what the bug deal was about him looking at his watch, seeing as I was new to the group. Dale went on, quoting some man as we listened thoughtfully.

When he was done, we all sat in silence.

It was Amy who spoke first. "You are so weird." I laughed at that, Sophia joining.

After a while Amy stood up. "Where are you going?" Andrea asked her.

"I have to pee." Amy answered. "Jeez, try to be discreet around here." we all chuckled as she walked off.

The group fell into light chatter, but I was too concerned to listen. The others should have been back by now. There was no more fish for them, so they would have nothing to eat. And it was getting late, so we'd all be in bed by the time they got back.  _Stress less_. I told myself.  _If no one else is worried, you shouldn't be either._

I stood up to stretch my legs. When Sophia looked up at me I smiled. "Just need to move. My leg was getting tingly." she smiled back as I started to walk around.

The RV door opened as Amy came out. "We're out of toilet paper?" she called to the group. Suddenly she let out an ear-piercing scream.

We all turned towards Amy to see a walker ripping into her arm. That's when everything became a blur as everyone started to panic. Walkers came from everywhere.

"Mum. Mum!" Carl cried.

"Carl." mum grabbed as she got up and followed everyone else.

I was a little bit away from the group, and before I could move, walkers got in my way. "Shane. Mum!" I cried as they headed for me. I had nowhere to go but turn and run further away.

Lucky for me there was a pick-up truck behind me. I jumped on to the back of it, and then crawled on to the roof, out of reach and safe. If I had, had a weapon I would have helped everyone else, but there had been nothing around to grab and I had been too far away.

"Vickie." I heard Shane yell.

"Victoria!" mum screamed,

I cried, watching as people were pulled down. "Shane get them to the RV." I yelled, hoping he could hear me.

"Follow me." he told everyone. "Get in the RV."

Suddenly dad and the others came out of the bushes, guns blaring. People were screaming everywhere. It was chaos.

They were close to the pick-up truck, and Daryl caught sight of me right away. "Stay there." he told me before smashing the butt of his gun into a walker’s head. He came up to the pick-up and jumped into the back, standing there and shooting the walkers that came by.

Once the last of the walkers were dead all you could hear was everyone crying.

"Victoria! Carl! Baby!" dad cried.

Carl run up to him. "Dad!" he cried, throwing his arms around dad.

I jumped off the roof of the car and wrapped my arms around Daryl, sobbing into his shoulder. I hadn't planned on doing that, but it was like I couldn't stop myself. I was just so scared.

"Hey, it's okay." he sounded unsure, like he didn't know what to do. Turning around he placed a hand on my head as I continued to sob. "It's okay. You're safe." I nodded, my arms around his neck pulling him closer. But the tears wouldn't stop.

"Victoria?" Dad called, looking around.

I let go of Daryl and jumped of the pick-up, running to my family. "Dad!"

"Oh god." mum sighed with relief as she pulled me in. "You're okay baby. You're alright." she cried.

Dad let Carl down. It was like we knew there was something he was looking at. Mum turned around, and over her shoulder I could see Andrea leaning over Amy's lifeless body.

I fell to my knees, mum following, pulling me into her arms as she sat there too shocked to cry. But the tears I had only just stopped, began to flow once more.

"I remember my dream now. Why I dug the holes." Jim said.

I looked around as, at all the dead bodies, both human and walker, that surrounded us.

**Bamby**


	6. Picking Up the Pieces

"Can you watch your brother?" mum asked while everyone else dealt with the bodies. "And Sophia?" I nodded, unable to speak. "Are you alright?" she looked at me with worry, her hand brushing my hair from my face.

I shook my head, taking a step away. "Go help everyone, I'll watch the kids." I told her before walking off.

I found Sophia and Carl sitting under a tree, both of them silent and tired. Just by looking at them I could see they were terrified; hell, everyone was. But seeing them like that seemed worse. They were supposed to be full of life, laughing and smiling; not fighting for their life.

"They guys." I forced a smile on and knelt in front of them. "What do you guys wanna do?" they just shrugged. I sighed and sat down. "Well you gotta have some kind of idea. Do you wanna draw? Go swimming? Or we could go exploring?" when they didn't answer I turned to my brother. "Carl?"

"I don't want to do anything."

"Well I don't care." I stood up. "We are going to have fun, and you're both going to enjoy it. Now let’s get up, we're gonna go for a swim."

They reluctantly got up before following me as I headed for the quarry.

"Y’all left my brother for dead. You had this coming." Daryl yelled as he stormed away from the group. Suddenly he bumped into me, and stopped in his tracks.

"You guys go ahead I'll be there in a second." I told Sophia and Carl. They did as I said, as soon as they were gone I turned back to Daryl. "I wanna thank you."

"Fo' what?" he still had that angry tone to his voice, but now it was more because of his discomfort.

I sighed, looking away. "Helping me last night. I really appreciate it. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

"Don' mention it." he said before walking off.

"I really am grateful." I called back.

All I got was a grunt and a nod before he got back to work.

 

...

 

Sophia giggled as I picked her up and spun her around. "Let me go, let me go." she screamed, though I could tell she was having fun.

We were in the water playing. So far it had done a decent job by distracting the kids, and they were doing a good job distracting me. "Are you sure?" I asked, grinning.

"Yes." she laughed.

"Alright then." I threw Sophia back into the water.

She came back up laughing and smiling. "Again, again."

"No, it's my turn." Carl smiled, throwing himself at me. "Get her Sophia." he yelled. Before I knew it they were both splashing me and laughing. I pretended that it was too much, only splashing them a little.

"Come on you three." we all stopped to see mum standing on the rocks. "It's time to go back."

Reality hit me like a ton of bricks, and as I headed out of the water, the cool air wasn't the only thing giving me chills. If mum was here that meant it was time for the funeral, and that was something I intended to avoid. I knew we had lost people, there was no way I was going to watch them be buried into the ground after seeing them die.

"Mum I'm not going." I whispered so Sophia and Carl wouldn't hear.

She turned to me, obviously stunned. "Why?"

"I can't watch them be buried. I can't think about them being gone. Especially Amy. I just can't do it." I was on the verge of tears, but I refused to cry.

Mum just nodded. "I'll tell your father." we walked in silence for a little bit longer before mum spoke up once more. "Do you think you could keep an eye on Jim?"

"Why? What's wrong with Jim?"

She looked to the kids before turning to me, whispering so they wouldn't hear. "He was bitten by a walker."

I stopped in my tracks. "What are we gonna do?"

She looked away, stopping as well. "Your father thinks we should go to the CDC. Get Jim some help."

"Go in to the city?" she nodded. It wasn't like I was scared for myself. If I had a weapon I'd be fine. I just didn't like the idea of taking Sophia and Carl into the city. But dad was right. The CDC would be our best chance. "I'll watch Jim, and then we'll go to the CDC."

"You agree?" she asked, surprised.

I shrugged, continuing towards camp. "I trust dad, I know he only has our best interest in mind." that was all I had to say before she nodded and kept walking.

 

...

 

I sat in the RV, but decided to give Jim some space. Everyone else had gone up the hill to say good bye to the dead, which left me here by myself.

"Oh no."

I turned in my seat to hear Jim mumbling in the other room. I made my way through the RV to check on Jim but as soon as I was by his side he seemed to be better.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, grabbing the cloth from the bucket of water and dabbing it against his forehead.

He sighed, closing his eyes. "Everything hurts." he grabbed my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Your dad's a good man."

I nodded. "I know."

"And you're very kind. Very nice girl." he mumbled.

I smiled. "Thank you."

"He sees you." his eyes fluttered open. "He sees your kindness and he admires it. You'll save them. You'll help them." he turned to me. "Will you save them?"

He was hallucinating or in some kind of weird trance. Mum had told me he had been slipping in and out of this state, and not to freak out. So, I just nodded. "I'll save them." I smiled.

Mum and dad come into the RV, heading towards the back where I sat with Jim still. "How is he?" dad asked.

"His fever's worse." I told them, still dapping the cool cloth on this forehead.

Mum nodded. "You need anything?" she asked Jim.

"Water. Could use more water." he sighed.

"I'll get you some. Victoria, you help me." mum said, gesturing for me to follow. I nodded and left without asking any questions.

"Do you really need me to help?" I asked once we stood outside of the RV.

She shook her head. "I just needed you to leave your father and Jim alone for a bit. He wants to talk to him." she said before walking off to get water.

I was unsure of what I should do so I just sat down on the step of the RV and waited. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the RV, exhausted and over run. The heat was getting to me too, and all I wanted was to go find some shade and sleep until this nightmare was over.

**Bamby**


	7. Old Habits

"Vickie?" I opened my eyes to see Shane kneeling in front of me.

I rolled my eyes and stood up, moving away. "What did I say about calling me that?"

"Wait." he grabbed my arm and spun me around. "I just. I need you to help talk some sense into Rick. That's all." he let go of my arm, and for some reason I didn't walk away. He took this as a good sign and continued. "Look, this CDC thing... it's a mistake." when I said nothing he sighed. "You agree with him?"

"What else would I do? He's my dad."

"Sure, he may be your dad, but you can't do this. It isn't worth risking everybody’s lives." he sighed and rubbed his chin before adding. "It's time you started thinking for yourself and not going along with whatever your father says."

I looked at him with shock and an anger building up. "You need to stop turning to me when he does something you don't agree with. You've done it for years, and you need to break that habit."

He nodded though I could tell he didn't agree. "I guess I'll just add it to the list of habits I'm breaking, whether I like it or not."

"What habits?" dad asked, stepping out of the RV.

I froze. There was no way I wanted my father to know I had something going on with his best friend. I don't know what he's do.

"Just talking about my need for a plan, man." Shane rubbed his nose. I gotta admit, I was glad he came up with something before I spilled the truth. "So, what is it? Are we leaving or not? Maybe y’all just want to stay here. We could hang some more tin cans."

"We can't say here. We both know that." dad told him.

"I was just telling Shane that I think we should trust your gut." I told dad, turning away from Shane.

Shane's head fell, before he spoke up. "Let's go do our sweep."

Dad nodded but his eyes were still on me. "We'll be back, tell your mum." he said before leaning forward and placing a kiss on my forehead. "Stay in camp." he told me before walking off with Shane.

I couldn't hide the guilty look on my face. I hated that I couldn't tell my mum or dad about what had happened with Shane and myself. That day, on the high way. That hadn't been the first day we'd been together...

_"Knock, knock." Shane called as he walked through the house. "Anyone home?"_

_I had been sitting in my room reading when I heard him walk into the house. I was dressed in red pyjama shorts and a tight tank top. Everyone else had gone to the park, but I had hurt my ankle the day before and didn't feel like going out._

_"Hey, Shane." I called. "Be right there." I book marked my book and put it on my bed side table before going out to find him._

_He stood in the hall way waiting for me, when I walked out I noticed the way he looked me up and down. His eyes stopped at the bandage around my ankle. "What happened?" he asked, gesturing towards my foot._

_I shrugged, hobbling along the floor. "Rolled my ankle yesterday. No big deal."_

_He scoffed. "It's the size of a small melon." he took a few steps forward before he stood by me. "Put your arm around me." he said, and I did as I was told. "Good, now hold on." he said before he lifted me up and helped me to the kitchen._

_My heart pounded in my chest, the feeling of him holding me so close was a dream come true. Shane had been around for as long as I could remember and my crush had been around for almost as long._

_He put me on the counter before moving towards the fridge. "What are you doing?" I laughed. Trying to distract myself from the butterflies in my stomach. I had hoped he would react the same way I did and kiss me, but of course he didn't. I was just his friend's daughter._

_"I came over to have lunch, so I'm making lunch." he shrugged, grinning towards me before turning back to the fridge. "Where is everyone anyway?"_

_"They all went to the park. I didn't go 'cause of my ankle." I shrugged. "Thought I'd stay here instead."_

_"Lucky me." he smiled, pulling out some bread, lettuce and cheese. Leaning back towards the fridge he asked. "Roast beef or chicken?"_

_"Beef." I replied. "And don't forget the mustard."_

_"Beef and Mustard. Check." he pulled the ingredients out, placing them on the bench besides me. He got to work making the sandwiches, talking to me at the same time. "So, how's school?"_

_"Good. Besides these group of girls. They think it's funny to make fun of me." I shrugged._

_"What do they make fun of you about?"_

_"They think I'm ugly."_

_He scoffed. "You're far from ugly." he said before we both froze. Clearing his throat, he broke the awkward silence. "What grade are you in anyway?"_

_I rolled my eyes, smiling. "Senior year."_

_"So how old does that make you?"_

_I laughed, nudging him. "Shane you know how old I am." when he didn't reply I added. "I turn eighteen next month."_

_Leaving the sandwich stuff, he turned to me. "Those girls are crazy to think you're ugly." he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "You're amazing. Far from ugly."_

_I leaned against his hand as he leaned in closer. "Shane?"_

_"And when you turn eighteen, then you'll believe me" his other hand rested on my arm. "Because then I won't have to hide how I feel about you." he said before pressing his lips against mine._

That had been the first time he kissed me, though it wasn't the last. After I graduated I went to college, and stayed on campus, which meant I hardly saw Shane any more. Though when I went home, he would be around.

We never did tell anyone about us- if you could call it that. Even though I was eighteen, and an adult, we both agreed that telling my dad would be crazy. Dad had made it clear that he didn't want me dating until I had graduated college- to keep any distractions away. Mum had agreed with him. So, Shane and I kept it hidden.

 _I wonder what would have happened if they found out._  I thought to myself.  _Would it really be that bad?_

"Hey Vickie." I turned to see Sophia waiting for me. "Wanna play?"

I smiled. "Sure. What do you wanna do?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I was playing with Carl, but he went off to see your mum. So, I was hoping you'd have an idea."

"Hmm." I looked around trying to see if there was anything we could use to entertain ourselves. We'd played basically every game I could think of, so now I wanted to make something. "How about we make flower crowns?" I asked her, seeing a bunch of flowers growing by the edge of camp.

"How?" she asked.

"You've never made flower crowns?" I gasped. "Well we're just going to have to change that now aren't we?" she smiled and nodded eagerly before following me.

**Bamby**


	8. Stay Close

"What's your favourite animal?" Sophia asked as we leaned against a tree making flower crowns.

"I don't really have a favourite." I shrugged. "What about you?"

"I like cats and dogs." was her only reply.

I grabbed another flower before asking. "Did you have any pets before?"

She shook her head. "Dad didn't want one."

I paused and turned to her. "I'm really sorry about your dad. Do you wanna talk about it?"

She shrugged. "Is it bad that I feel safe now he's gone?" she looked up at me, eyes teary.

"Why would you feel like that?"

A tear escaped, and I reached over to wipe it away before she could. "He used to hurt mummy. And touch me. He was scary." she managed to say before she started crying.

I pulled her into my arms and held her while she hugged me back. "Oh sweetie, no it's not bad." I told her, rocking back and forth. "But it's not bad to miss him either. He was your dad after all."

She nodded, holding me tighter. "Does mum miss him?"

I nodded. "Of course, she does sweetie. She's just staying strong for you." I whispered, stroking her hair. "Of course, she does."

 

...

 

Everyone had come together after Shane, Dale and my dad came back from the sweep. Apparently they had decided we were going to the CDC and I couldn't help but feel relief. It was like we were finally getting a chance to survive.

I stood by the RV looking out towards the city. It was a beautiful view with the sun setting, the sky a canvas of different colours. It was like all this crap hadn't actually happened. At that moment, we could forget about the world.

"What you doin'?" I turned to see Daryl walking towards me.

I smiled and turned back to the view. "Forgetting."

"Forgettin'? What's that suppos'd to mean?" he stood by me now, and I gestured to the city.

"It's beautiful enough you could almost forget about everything else."

He made a grunting noise. "Almost."

I turned to him and sighed. "Yeah, I guess it's not that great." I laughed. "I guess I just like to enjoy the little things more than I used to." I shrugged.

We stood in silence for a while, and it was nice. It wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. And Daryl wasn't bad company- even though he was crazy sometimes.

"Dinner's ready." he nudged me before gesturing towards the fire. "Not much so better get some while you can.

I nodded and followed him towards the rest of the camp.

 

...

 

"Alright, everybody, Listen up!" Shane started "Those of you with CBs, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a CB, can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

A man stood forward to tell Shane and my dad that his family wasn't going with us. They had family somewhere else so he was taking them that way.

I didn't know the people very well, so I just stood on the side lines watching everyone else. I noticed how Daryl seemed to act when he saw Shane hand over some bullets. Apparently he wasn't happy about that.

Once everyone had said their goodbyes, Shane got back to business.

"Come on. Let's go. Let's move out." Shane said as everyone started heading for vehicles.

I was moving to the RV when dad grabbed my arm. "I want you going with Shane."

I rolled my eyes. "Why?"

He didn't seem to notice my annoyance. "If we get in to trouble I want to know you're safe. Shane will protect you, I know he will."

"Daryl would protect me." I point out. I'm not sure why I picked Daryl to use in my argument, but once I had said it I agreed with myself. "He's got a crossbow. It's quieter and won't draw attention." I noted.

"I don't know Daryl." dad argued.

"Well I don't care. You can choose between the RV or Daryl." I crossed my arms over my chest waiting for him to reply.

I could see that he was having a hard time with his decision. In all honesty he would have sent me to the RV but with Jim in there, turning into a walker, he didn't want to risk having me locked in there with him.

"Fine." he sighed. "You can go with Daryl."

I smiled triumphantly before heading towards the pick-up. Daryl looked at me from the driver's seat with question. His curiously quickly turned to confused anger once I opened the passenger door and got in.

"What the- What are you doin'"

I shrugged. "You gonna drive or are we sitting here all day?"

 

...

 

When all the cars stopped, Daryl got out of the car. "Stay here." he told me, slamming the door closed. I rolled my eyes and got ut of the car, following him. He looked over his shoulder at me and sighed, "What did I just say?"

"I'm not a child, you know." I snapped.

He scoffed. "Well then why didn't daddy let you go in the RV? He wanted to make sure you were safe, little girl." I glared at him, but couldn't say anything back as we were now standing with the others.

"What's going on?" I asked mum.

She shrugged. "The RV broke down, but that's all I know."

Sophia came over to me and hugged me. "Hey sweetie." I smiled, hugging her back. "What's it like sitting in the back seat with Carl? Annoying huh?"

She just smiled and shook her head. "It's been nice so far."

"Well that's something new." I nudged her and she laughed.

"I see something up ahead. Gas station if we're lucky." Shane said, looking through binoculars.

Jaquci came out of the RV obviously worried. "Y’all, Jim, it's bad. I don't think he can take much more." she said before going back in.

"Hey, Rick." Shane started. "You wanna hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back.

"Yeah, I'll come along to back ya up." T-Dog added.

"Y’all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back." Shane called as the two of them left.

Dad went into the RV, and when I went to follow, Daryl grabbed my arm to stop me. "What do you think you're doin'?" he asked.

"Going in to check on Jim." I said, with an unspoken 'duh' at the end.

"No, nuh-uh. Your dad wants me to watch you, so that's what I'm doin'. And there is no way you're going in there." he said matter of factly.

Mum came forward and I smiled, knowing she was going to back me up- well at least that's what I thought she was going to do. Instead he agreed with him.

"Daryl's right Victoria. Jim isn't stable, and I know your dad won't want you in there.  _I_ don't want you in there. So just stay over there and watch Sophia and Carl." she told me, gesturing behind her.

I rolled my eyes. "This is stupid, I can take care of myself you know."

 

...

 

Shane placed Jim under a tree so he could lean against it. "Hey another damn tree." Jim chuckled looking up at the sky.

"Hey, Jim. I mean, you know it doesn't have to be this." Shane said leaning over near Jim.

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice." Jim sighed.

"Okay. Alright." Shane stepped back.

I moved forward and knelt beside Jim. "Hey." I smiled grabbing his hand. "It's gonna be okay."

He nodded, squeezing my hand reassuringly. "You save them okay." he told me, like he had in the RV. At the time I had thought he was delirious, but it seems he was fine now.

All I could do was nod. "I'll save them." I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek before letting go of his hand and standing up. I walked past everyone and headed straight for Daryl's pick up. I didn't want anyone to see the tears that fell down my face.

I opened the car door and got in, slamming it behind me before I let my body sob. My body shook as I covered my face and pulled my legs up crying uncontrollably.

I may not have known Jim for as long as the others, but I had been there with him sitting there caring for him. I had spoken to him when he had been tied to the tree after we got him away from digging. I had talked to him while he had pulled the car apart. So sure, I hadn't known him long, but he had been one of the people I had actually found myself getting close to.

"Victoria?"

I looked up towards the driver's side, but my eyes were too blurry to see anything. "Yeah?" I sobbed.

The door opened and I could see the shape of someone get into the car. "You okay?" I recognised the voice as Daryl's.

I shook my head, a sob escaping my lips again. "It's unfair." I whispered before I threw my arms around him, letting the tears pour.

Surprisingly, I felt his arms around me as he hugged me back. His hand rubbed my back soothingly as he held me to him. "I know."

The car ahead of us started and I pulled back. I wiped my tears away, turning to the road. "We better get going." I sobbed, pulling my seat belt on.

That's all I needed to say before he turned on the ignition and drove off.

 

...

 

When we got to the CDC it was like the nightmare got worse. There was no way this place was still running with the way it looked outside. All the dead bodies lying around. I wasn't sure which of them were walkers’ bodies or people bodies they were that rotten and gross.

And the smell. It was like nothing I had ever smelt before. Meat that had been sitting in a warm garbage can for months on end. And all I could hear was the constant buzz of the flies swarming around the rotting flesh.

"Stay close." Daryl told me, keeping an eye out with his crossbow ready to shoot.

"Keep moving. Stay together." dad told everyone.

Shane was right there with him. "Keep moving. Come on."

We kept going and it was like the bodies never ended. The buzzing got louder as the smell grew. Whoever said the nose adjusts in thirty seconds obviously hadn't been around something that smelt this bad.

"Keep it together. Come on." Shane gestured for everyone to keep going as we neared the building.

Dad tried to open the shutters, Shane helping. But it wouldn't budge. When they eventually gave up Shane banged his hand against them.

"There's nobody here." it was T-Dog that voiced what everyone had been thinking. Wheat everyone had been dreading.

"Then why are these shutters down?" dad contradicted.

Daryl grabbed me and pulled me behind him. "Walkers!"

A walker dressed in a soldier’s uniform made its way towards us. I could hear guns been cocked as everyone got ready to shoot.

Daryl shot the walker, staying close to me the whole time. "You led us into a graveyard." he snapped at my father.

"He made a call." Shane said, backing my father up.

Daryl grabbed my arm, making sure I stayed by him. "It was the wrong damn call." he yelled.

"You hear me." Shane pushed him, though Daryl made sure he didn't back into me. "Shut up! Shut up." he turned to my dad. "Rick, this is a dead-end. Do you hear me? No blame."

"Where are we going to go?" Carol asked, holding Sophia to her.

Mum turned to dad. "She's right. We can't be this close to the city after dark."

"Fort Benning, Rick. Still an option." Shane suggested.

"On what?" Andrea asked. "No food, no fuel. It's a hundred miles."

"A hundred and twenty-five. I checked on the map." Glenn noted.

"Forget Fort Benning, we need answers tonight, now!" mum told them all, beside her I could see Carl crying.

Dad moved towards her. "We'll think of something."

"Let's go."

I don't know who was the first to say it but suddenly everyone started to move back to the cars. Daryl grabbed my arm, pulling me along. Everyone rushed, but kept an eye out for walkers.

"The camera! It moved." dad called back to us.

Everyone stopped and turned to see if he was right, but nothing happened. "You imagined it." Dale told him.

"It moved." dad insisted. He walked back to the shutters, looking up at the camera.

Shane was saying something to dad, trying to move him away from the shutters and back to the cars. At first it looked like it was working, until dad pushed Shane's hands away and run back to the doors, banging on them.

"I know you're in there! I know you can hear me! Please, we're desperate! Please help us! We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left! We have nowhere else to go."

"Keep your eyes open." Shane told us.

Mum run to dad, standing in front of him, pushing him away. Shane pulled her away from dad before pulling him away too.

"You're killing us! You're killing us!" dad cried.

Daryl kept me behind him, his gun ready to shoot anything that came out. "Stay with me Victoria. Don't move." he called.

I was just about to answer when a bright light suddenly came on as the shutters opened.

All we could do was turn and stare at it.

**Bamby**


	9. Pass the Alcohol

"Daryl, you cover the back." Shane called.

"Stay behind me." Daryl said as he backed up towards the building's now open shutter. "Stay close."

"Okay." was all I could say as I made my way inside, just like everybody else.

"Hello? Hello?" dad called.

"Watch those doors. Watch for walkers." Dale instructed.

We all stood in a large room, as if we were in the front of a museum or some government place- which we were so it made sense. It was all clean and new and professional looking, which was something we hadn't seen since everything had gone to shit.

"Hello?" dad called again.

The sound of a gun cocking echoed through the place. "Anybody infected?" a man yelled.

We all turned to him, Daryl grabbed me and pushed me behind him once he saw the man had his gun facing towards our group.

"One of our group was." dad answered, his gun ready, but not pointing towards the man. "He didn't make it."

The man walked forward slightly. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"A chance." dad told him.

The man took a few steps closer. "That's asking a lot these days."

Dad gave a small nod. "I know."

The man looked at each of us. I'm not sure what went through his mind, but at that moment he seemed to have decided to let us stay. "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission."

"Okay." dad nodded. "We can do that."

The man lowered his gun and I let a sigh of relief go through me. "You got stuff to bring in, do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

"Stay with Dale." Daryl told me before he headed out to grab stuff with some of the other men.

I stood by Dale, waiting for them all to come in. Once they were Daryl nodded at me, and I followed. I know it's strange how I had been telling everyone I could take care of myself- I could, I had done it when I was alone. But after Daryl had found me crying, it was like I didn't feel safe without him around.

"Vi, seal the main entrance, kill the power up here." the man said to no one.

"Rick Grimes." dad introduced himself.

"Dr Edwin Jenner." the man replied before he led us to an elevator.

We all piled in. I stood next to Glenn, with Daryl in front of me. "Doctors always go around packin' heat like that?" Daryl asked Jenner.

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarised myself." he answered, looking at the group again. "But you look harmless enough." he looked down at Carl. "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you." Carl grinned and turned to me. I couldn't help but smile at my brother.

When the elevator stopped we all followed Jenner as he led us down a long hall.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked.

Jenner turned to look at her but didn't stop moving. "You claustrophobic?"

I walked beside Daryl, so I couldn't see her, but by the way she spoke I could tell she was. "A little." she replied.

"Try not to think about it." was all he had to say. We entered a large dark room, going down a ramp. "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." Jenner called out.

We stopped before lights turned on all around us, lighting up the room and showing us a floor of computers all around.

"Welcome to Zone Five." Jenner said, continuing down the ramp.

We all followed, though dad was the one who spoke. "Where is everybody? The other doctors? The staff?"

Jenner stopped in the middle of the room and turned to us. "I'm it. It's just me here."

 

...

 

After the blood tests Jenner showed us to the dining room and kitchen. I swear if there was a heaven on earth, it was that room.

"Let's eat." T-Dog called, grinning from ear to ear.

Everybody got to work either cooking or setting up the table. I was just about to go to Sophia when a hand grabbed my shoulder. I was seriously getting tired of people grabbing me.

"What do you want Shane?" I asked the older man.

"We need to talk."

I shook my head. "Not now, okay. I'm hungry and I'm tired. Just let me eat first, please?"

He nodded. "But we'll talk later."

"Look at what I just found." both of us turned to see Daryl holding two bottles of wine. "Who wants something to drink?" he grinned placing the bottles on the bench before grabbing more alcohol.

We all sat around the table, the food already cooked because it's packeted and easy. "Let's dig in." dad called before everyone started to eat.

Before I knew it we were all laughing and having the time of our lives.

I went to get some wine but mum stopped me. "Oh, come on. I'm an adult." I told her.

She shook her head. "You're twenty, not twenty-one. Still under aged."

"Can I have some?" Carl asked, sitting on the other side of mum.

"What makes you think you can have some if your sister can't?" she laughed.

"Come on Lori." Dale spoke up. "In Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France."

Mum laughed. "Well when they're in Italy or France, they can have some."

"What's it gonna hurt? Come on. Come on." dad tried to persuade her.

She looked at him and nearly choked on her wine as she laughed. "Alright."

Dale poured a little in a glass for Carl before filling a glass for me. "There you guys are."

I watched Carl as he took the glass smiling at it. He took a small sip, before putting the glass down. "Eww!"

We all laughed.

"That's my boy." my said, grabbing his glass and pouring the wine into her own. They all turned to me.

I grabbed my glass and nodded my head before taking a drink. It was sweet and delicious, though it wasn't a surprise. I had been living at college for the last two years so I had, had wine before. When I placed the glass down I smiled. "Yum."

They all laughed now while mum shook her head smiling.

"Well we know Carl should stick to soda pop at least." Shane said.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl spoke up, reaching for more alcohol.

Glenn looked up, grinning. "What?"

"I wanna see how red your face can get." Daryl told him, pouring himself a drink.

As everyone laughed, dad started to tap his fork on his glass. Standing up, he made a toast. "It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than our host." T-Dog corrected.

"Hear, hear!" Dale called.

"Booyah!" Daryl exclaimed happily.

"Thank you." dad nodded raising his glass to Jenner who did the same to dad..

"So, when are you gonna tell us what happened here, Doc?" Shane asked. "All the... all the other doctors figuring out what happened. Where are they?"

I put my glass down, I had been drinking but his words made me stop and shake my head. "Now's not the time Shane."

"Victoria's right." dad sat down. "We're celebrating, Shane. We don't need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second. That's why we’re here right? This was your move. To find all the answers. Instead... we found him." Shane gestured to Jenner. "Found one man. Why?"

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just... left. Went off to be with their families." Jenner explained. "And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane looked smug as he got comfortable in his chair. I just wanted to slap him.

"No." Jenner started. "Many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave." Andrea noted. "Why?"

"I just kept working. Hoping... to do some good." Jenner answered.

For a moment it was silent and I didn't know what to do or think. On one hand I was glad we were finally safe from the monsters out there. But on the other I was disappointed. This was supposed to be the place where we found the answers, but instead we found a dead-end.

"Dude, you are such a buzz-kill, man." Glenn told Shane.

 

...

 

Jenner showed us down another hall, this on skinnier, with more doors.

"Most of the facility is powered down, including housing. You'll have to make do here." he told us. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like.

"There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy." he turned and leaned down so he could look at the kids on their level. "Just don't plug-in the video games. Of anything that draws power." he stood and spoke to the rest of us. "Same applies. If you shower, go easy on the hot water." he said before walking off.

Glenn turned around a smiling growing on his face. "Hot water?"

"That's what the man said." T-Dog grinned.

With that we all made our ways to our rooms. There was only enough room for there in a room so I took the room next to mum, dad, and Carl's. Dropping my bag by the couch I made my way to the bathroom before getting in the hot water.

If I thought the dining room and kitchen was heaven, I was wrong. There was nothing better than a hot shower.

Once I was done I threw on a nightie I had found in the cupboard. It was short, cotton and white, and it was comfy. I grabbed my brush and let it run through my hair, closing my eyes as I let the brush flow through my washed hair. I couldn't help but smile at the feeling.

There was a knock on my door. "Come in." I called. Suddenly the door burst open, revealing Glenn, T-Dog and Daryl. "What are you guys doing?" I laughed.

They had a bottle of alcohol each, Daryl actually had two. Glenn could hardly stand, and T-Dog was almost the same. Though Daryl seemed to be fine, if only a little drunk.

"Hey Vic." Glenn grinned, stumbling in before collapsing on the couch beside me. "What are you doing?"

I kept brushing my hair, smiling at my drunk friend. "What does it look like?"

T-Dog and Daryl walked in, T-Dog sat on one of the chairs, while Daryl sat on the ground in front of me. "Here." he handed me the extra bottle. "Ain't fun just watchin' people drink."

I smiled and took the bottle from him. "How thoughtful of you." I said before taking a drink of the wine. "So, who's idea was it to come annoy me?"

" _Me!_ " Glenn grinned, raising his hand. "I wanted to see you. Make sure you were okay." he nodded, leaning against me.

I rolled my eyes as his head rested on my shoulder. "Really?"

"The kid's got a crush." T-Dog laughed.

My door opened once more, revealing my mum. "Everything okay here?" mum asked, looking at all the guys.

Glenn moved away from me as Daryl stood up. "We were just checking up on her." Daryl said as the others stood too. "We better get goin'." he said before they left.

Mum looked at me and shook her head smiling. "Am I gonna have to watch you with those boys?"

I stood and moved towards her. "Nah. You've got nothing to worry about." I giggled as we headed for the rec room.

We found Sophia, Carl and Carol in side sitting around a desk.

Sophia smiled at the sight of me. "Vickie, you wanna play with us?" she gestured to the checkers board in front of them.

"I think it's bed time." mum said.

Carol stood and agreed. "Come on Sophia, you can play tomorrow." she smiled

"Okay, mum." Sophia stood and walked towards me before handing me a piece of paper.

"What this?" I asked, kneeling down in front of her. I unfolded the paper to see the drawing she had made a few days ago. "Is this for me?"

She nodded. "Because you don't sit in the car with us. This way you won't be alone." she smiled and hugged me.

"Come on Sophia." Carol smiled down at us.

"You better follow the others." I said, noticing mum and Carl had already left.

"Are you coming Victoria?" Carol asked.

I shook my head. "I might check out the books first." I said as they left. I walked toward one of the book shelve before pulling out book to look at. Before I could read, the sound of a door slamming behind me caused me to jump and turn around.

Shane stood there leaning against the wall looking, at me obviously wanting that talk.

"I'm tired." was all I said before I put the book back.

He sighed and took a few steps towards me. "We need to talk."

"I don't want to talk right now." I shook my head, looking at the shelf.

"I don't care what you want. I'm going to talk and you're going to listen." he told me.

I spun on my heels to look at him. "You wanna talk? Fine we'll talk." I moved so I was standing in front of him. "Let's talk about 'us'. About how you said you wouldn't hide it and then that's what you did. About how you  _used_  me for yourself. You never cared about me, ever." I snapped.

"That's not true." he sighed.

I shook my head. "I don't believe you."

I moved towards the door but he slammed it closed and got in my way before I could leave. "Well it's the truth. I do care. I care more than you know." he said moving closer.

I backed up and leaned on the ping-pong table. "Really? Why should I believe you?"

He wiped his face, obviously getting aggravated with me. "Damn it Vickie, I love you." he snapped, closing the gap between us so he stood right in front of me. "I love you and I know you love me too." he said, brushing his fingers through my hair.

"You're drunk Shane." I said, trying to push him away. "We can talk about this when you're sober."

He pushed my hands away and shook his head. "I need you to believe me." before I could say anything else he pushed his lips against mine. I struggled but his hand grabbed my face so I wouldn't move away. Using my hand, I pushed him away, but that just made him kiss my neck.

"Shane get off me." I struggled, trying to scratch him or kick him, but nothing worked.

He shook his head, his hand moving to the bottom of my night-dress. "I know you love me. I know you want me just as bad." he said as he rubbed me against my underwear.

I struggled more as I cried. "Please. Please Shane let me go." I begged, trying to push his hand away. "Help." I screamed.

Suddenly Shane was pushed away from me.

I got off the table and turned to see Daryl leaning over Shane who was now on the ground. "I don't want to see you touch her ever again. You understand?"

Shane didn't even answer before Daryl turned back to me, grabbed my hand and led me to my room. He closed the door behind him before leading us to the couch, all the while I kept crying.

I sat down while he knelt on the ground in front of me. "Victoria, did he... did he do anything?" I threw my arms around him unable to answer. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me on to his lap. "You're okay. You're alright."

"Don't leave." I cried, burying my face in his neck.

He nodded, picking me up before taking a seat on the couch. He put me next to him as he pulled his legs up. I pulled my legs up as well, so we were both lying on the thin couch, his arms still wrapped around him.

"I won't go anywhere." he whispered, stroking me hair. That's the last thing I remember before I fell asleep.

**Bamby**


	10. Getting Close to Dixon

I woke up to the feeling of strong arms around me and a headache pounding in my head. I knew the headache was from the drinking last night, though I couldn't trust my mind about the arms. Did last night actually happen? Why would Daryl Dixon stay? Why didn't he leave?

"Mornin'." he mumbled, obviously already awake.

"You're really here?" I asked, rolling over so I could look at him.

He nodded. "I told you I'd stay."

"Victoria, honey, you coming to breakfast?" the door to my room swung open as mum came to wake me up. One look at Daryl lying on the couch with me and I could see a mixture of emotions on her face. "I'll see you down in the dining room." was all she said before she left.

I turned back to Daryl who seemed worried. "You think your mum thinks something happened last night?"

I scoffed. "No thinking about it. She's definitely gonna be thinking something happened." I told him.

He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. "I should let you get dressed then." he sighed.

I nodded and stood up so he could move. "Yeah, better go before she thinks up more stuff." I sighed turning around. I felt hurt that he wanted to just leave.

"Hey." he turned me around. "I'll see you down there." he said before giving me a reassuring look and leaving.

 

...

 

"Mornin'" dad mumbled as he walked into the dining room.

We all sat at the table, waiting for the breakfast T-Dog was cooking up. I had come in before most people. It had just been mum, Carl and Dale when I got there. I had taken a seat next to Carl, avoiding the questioning look my mum was giving me. It didn't take long before Daryl came in and sat next to me.

I moved so I was closer to him. "Hey." I smiled, looking at my empty plate.

I felt his hand under the table brush against my knee. I put my hand under the table and intertwined my finger with his, he froze but didn't pull away. I took that as a good sign, my smile growing slightly. "Hey." he said, without the smile though.

Across the table from us Glenn was groaning and moaning. "You okay?" I grinned, remembering how drink he had been last night.

"He just needs some protein." T-Dog said as he filled everyone's plates with eggs. "It'll help with the hangover."

Glenn just groaned. "Don't ever, ever, ever let me drink again."

"Hey." I looked up to see who my dad had said hey to, to find Shane walking in. Daryl's hand, the one holding mine, tightened its grip slightly.

"Hey." Shane said back as he grabbed some coffee.

"You feel as bad as I do?" dad asked him.

"Worse."

We all went back to eating, though I noticed Daryl had moved closer to me. You didn't see me complaining though. I actually didn't mind him worrying over me, and protecting me...

"Hey what happened to you?" T-Dog asked Shane. I only noticed than that he had scratches on his neck and hand. I was sure they were from me and not Daryl. Daryl would have given him a bruise, not some girly scratches.

Shane took a seat, avoiding looking in my direction. "Must have done it in my sleep."

"Never seen you do that before." dad noted.

"Me neither." Shane looked at me then. "Not like me at all." I swear I had to tighten my own grip on Daryl's hand to stop him from jumping across the table and beating Shane to a pulp

"Morning." Jenner came in, walking straight for the coffee maker.

"Hey Doc." dad said in reply.

I turned to Daryl, wanting to get out of there. It was just a little too crowded for me. "I'm gonna go for a walk... wanna come?" he nodded as we got up to leave, our hands no longer together.

Just as we were about to leave, the others got up and moved to the door, following Jenner. They had been talking to him and I had chosen to ignore it. I didn't want to know anything. We were safe and that's all that mattered.

"Come on Victoria." mum said as she walked past us. There was no avoiding now. It looked like we were following the rest of them.

 

...

 

We walked into Zone Five, moving to one of the inner computers. Jenner had given Vi, the computer, an order and suddenly the screen in front of us turned on to reveal some pictures and videos of a person. But it wasn't a normal video... you could see the brain and how it worked.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked Jenner. I held in a laugh at the fact it was my brother who asked the question.

Jenner turned to him. "An extraordinary one." they both turned back to the screen, as did everyone else. "Not that it matters in the end." Jenner added before giving Vi another order. The picture on the screen changed, taking as further into the brain.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked. At the sound of his voice, Daryl moved himself so he stood between me and Shane, not that we were close anyway. Yet I couldn't help but smile up at the red-neck.

"It's a person's life. Experiences, memories, it's everything." looking at Jenner he seems so interested, so drawn in by that knowledge. It was his passion. "Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique and human."

Daryl stood up from leaning on the computers, crossing his arms over his chest. "You don't make sense, ever?"

Jenner stood, pointing at the screen as if he were a professor at a lecture and we were the students. "Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" dad walked forward. "That's what this is? A vigil?"

"Yes." Jenner answered before adding. "Or rather the... playback of the vigil."

Andrea looked both interested and horrified as she stepped for closer. "This person died? Who?"

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected. And volunteered to have us... record the process." he answered, then gave another command to Vi.

The screen changed once more, the blue lights turning black. "What's happening?" I asked, moving closer to Daryl as I suddenly felt a sick feeling coming up. I didn't like this. I didn't want to know. But I had to.

Jenner pointed at the picture again. "It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands haemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major death." Jenner looked down, and I couldn't help but think he knew the test subject. "Everything you ever were or will be... gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia's sweet voice broke the silence and my heart broke. She was too young for this. The world was too cruel for a little girl like her. Kids like Sophia and Carl shouldn't have to live in a world like this.

But no one spoke the words I had been thinking. Instead Carol just simply said, "Yes."

"You okay?" Daryl asked me. His voice distracted me from the others as I looked up to see him watching me. I hadn't realised I had been pacing, my hands shaking.

I shook my head. "I don't feel too good." I told him honestly.

He brought his hand up to my arm and rubbed it up and down, calming my shakes and relaxing me a little. "You don't need to worry. I'm here. I'll protect you."

I smiled up at him. "You don't have to do that."

He shrugged. "I told you I won't go anywhere, and that's the truth. You're stuck with me now."

We turned back to the video, watching as the lights in the brain started to glow again. Only this time there are less lights, and they're red.

"It restarts the brain?" mum asked.

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets the up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" dad stood behind Jenner's shoulder staring at the brain.

Jenner turned and moved so he stood next to my dad. "You tell me." he pointed at the screen.

"It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark." dad answered.

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobes, the human part, that doesn't come back. The 'you' part." I looked at the screen as the body started moving its jaw and head. "It's just a shell, driven by mindless instinct."

There was a light on the screen and then something went through the brain. The dark parts disappearing.

"God, what was that?" Carol stood up straighter, confused.

"He shot his patient." I answered, looking away from the screen.

"In the head." Andrea added. "Didn't you?" Jenner ordered Vi to power the screen down. "You have no idea what it is, do you?"

I walked away, not too far but far enough so I could ignore the others talking. I didn't want to hear anymore. I didn't want to hear about how there was no hope for the future. I knew it was true. I mean we came here to get a cure, to get help, but all we found was one guy. There was nothing left.

Jenner walked past me, leaving the room, and I turned to my dad just in time to hear Vi. "When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."

 

...

 

Mum had led everyone back to their rooms, while Shane, dad, Glenn and T-Dog went to check out the basement. I sat in my room, backing my things to keep myself busy. As I put my things away I came across my hair brush, and I could think of any other way to calm my nerves.

My door opened, revealing Daryl. "Can I come in?" I nodded, letting the brush run through my hair as I kept brushing. I noticed he held another bottle of alcohol. "Wha're you doing?" he asked, sitting on the couch as I sat on the floor.

I shrugged. "Relaxing."

He scoffed. "Brushin’ your hair?"

I looked up at him and smiled. "Can you think of anything else to do?" he just held up the bottle of alcohol and grinned. I rolled my eyes and turned back around, going back to brushing my hair.

Suddenly the lights turned off.

"Daryl?"

He stood up and I could barely see his hand reaching out, so I took it as we made our way to the door. As he opened it we saw Jenner walk past.

"Why is the air off?" mum asked from the room next door.

"And the lights in our room?" Carol added.

"What's going on? Why is everything gettin' turned off?" Daryl asked.

Jenner took the bottle of alcohol from Daryl's hand. "Energy use is being prioritized."

I followed Daryl as he left the room and followed Jenner. The questioning look from my mum did not go unnoticed.

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale asked from the door way of a room up ahead.

"It's not up to me. Zone Five is shutting itself down."

"Aye. Aye, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Daryl grabbed my hand, making sure I kept up as he walked a little faster. "Hey, man, I'm talking to you. What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How could a building do anything?"

"You'd be surprised."

I could hear the others running down stairs and I followed mum to look over the railing. "Dad?"

"Rick!" mum called over as well before we followed Jenner down the stairs and back to the main computer room. I was seriously starting to hate this room.

Dad came toward Jenner, and I could see he was both worried and mad. "Jenner, what's happening?"

"The system is dropping all non-essential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. We've just approached the half hour line. Right on schedule. he pointed at the timer on the wall.

Jenner stopped at the steps, taking another drink before giving it to Daryl. He turned to everyone before stopping at me. "It was the French."

"What?" Andrea stepped forward.

I followed, no longer wanting to stay behind Daryl. I wanted answers and this guy was going to give them to me. If the world was going to end, why not have a little knowledge? "What are you going on about?"

"They were the last to hold out. While our people were bolting the doors and committing suicide in the halls, they stayed in the labs to the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

Jenner turned away from us but I grabbed his shoulder and turned him around so he would face me. "What happened?"

"Same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice." he shrugged. "The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?"

"Let me tell you..." Shane stepped forward, pushing past me.

Dad was right behind him. "To hell with this Shane, I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody. We're getting out of here now!" everybody did as dad said, turning around and heading the way to our rooms.

Suddenly the sound of an alarm blaring stopped us in our tracks.

"What's that?" Shane asked. Jenner moved to a little device on his screen as Shane shouted. "Everybody y’all heard Rick. Go get your thing's!"

"Come on." T-Dog yelled. "Come on, let's go."

The doorway to get out was blocked as a shutter came up, closing it off.

I stopped and turned to the doorway, feeling panic set in. "Dad?"

"Did he just lock us in? He just locked us in!" Glenn shouted.

"Carl? Victoria?" mum came running back.

"Mum!" Carl ran to mum.

I was about to when I felt Daryl run the other way. I turned to see him heading for Jenner. "You son of a bitch!"

"Dad!" I screamed, and he turned right away.

"Shane. Shane, stop him." he yelled.

Shane grabbed Daryl. "No, stop. Don't!"

Daryl struggled against Shane. "He locked us in!"

I came up to stand between Daryl and Jenner. "You can't do this. Please."

Dad came storming past us. "Jenner, open that door now."

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed." he fixed his coat and turned to his computer.

"Well, open the damn things!"

But Jenner just shook his head. "That's not something I control. The computers do."

"Over ride them." I snapped.

But Jenner just went on. "I told you, once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way."

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes?" dad was having a hard time controlling himself, and I was glad he had that strength. The only thing that kept me from throwing myself at Jenner and beating him till he opened the door, was that Carl and Sophia would see it.

Shane kicked Jenner's chair. "Come on!" he shouted as dad asked the question again.

Jenner stood, no longer in control of his emotions. "Do you know what this place is? We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponised smallpox! Ebola to wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!" he snapped, looking at all of us.

Once he had calmed, he sat down, turning to his computer again. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure and a terrorist attack, for example, HITs are deployed to prevent any organisms getting out."

"HITs?" dad questioned.

"Vi, define." Jenner commanded.

"HITs. High-Impulse Thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum pressure ignites the oxygen between 5'ooo and 6'ooo degrees, and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage is required."

Dad pulled mum into his arms, Carl as well. I rushed over there, throwing my arms around them as I felt tears well up.

"It sets the air on fire." Jenner finished.

**Bamby**


	11. Explosions

"It sets the air on fire." Jenner finished. "No pain. An end to sorrow. Grief. Regret. Everything."

Most of the men ran to the door, banging against it, trying to open it. I sat on the ground next to Sophia and Carl, my mum's hand in mine.

I heard Daryl grunt before the sound of glass smashing and guessed he threw the bottle at the door. "Open the damn door." he shouted.

I covered my face, fighting the tears that welled up. I didn't want this. As much as I knew what was outside; the pain and suffering. I couldn't stop thinking about the beautiful things. The things that made me want to keep living.

"Out of my way." Shane called before I heard more banging against the door. Though I didn't get up to look. I just sat there, my face hidden by my knees as I hugged them to my chest.

Beside me I could hear Carol and Sophia crying, sobs coming from Carl. Mum's hand holding mine shook slightly. All around me I could feel the fear.

"You should have left well enough alone. It would have been so much easier." Jenner's calm voice caused me to look up at the man. I had been grateful to him last night but now? He was a monster. Worse than the things outside.

"Easier for who?" mum asked, a tone in her voice that I had never heard before. It was the voice of a mother scared for her children.

"All of you." Jenner answered simply. "You know what's out there. A short brutal life and an agonising death." he turned to Andrea. “Your, your sister... what was her name?"

"Amy."

"Amy." Jenner repeated. "You know what this does. You've seen is. Is that what you really want?"

I stood up now, standing between them. "How dare you. That's her sister." my hand came across his check, the sound echoed through the room. "You shout your mouth." I snapped, ready to hit him again, but a set of arms grabbed me and pulled me back. "You have no right!" I yelled at Jenner.

"Shane take her over there." dad pointed towards the railing that led to the shutters.

I hadn't realized it was Shane that was holding me, and later, when I thought about it, it scared me to think I had been so close to him after last night. But at that moment I was too angry and scared for other reasons. I was angry at Jenner for giving me false hope. and I was scared at the fact that what he was saying was completely true.

"Let her go." Daryl growled, standing by Shane and me. Shane let me go before moving towards my dad. "You okay?" Daryl brushed some hair behind my ear.

That's when the tears started.

"Those doors are meant to with stand rocket launchers." Jenner stated.

Daryl's jaw clenched before he stormed away from me. "Well, your head ain't!" he shouted, axe raised towards Jenner.

"Whoa. Whoa, Daryl! Daryl!" dad was in front of him, pushing him back before he could hurt Jenner. And before long he had others helping him move Daryl away. "Just back up! Back up!"

Jenner stood, looking at my dad. "You do want this. Last night you said. You knew it was just a matter of time before everybody was dead."

I looked at my dad before I felt my knees go weak. Daryl was on the ground in front of me in an instant. "Victoria?"

"What you really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane asked my dad.

Dad just turned to mum. "I had to keep hope alive didn't I?"

"There is no hope. There never was." Jenner contradicted.

"There's always hope. Maybe not you, maybe not here; but somebody, somewhere." dad snapped.

"What part of 'everything's gone' do you not understand?" Andrea asked, her voice scarily calm.

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is... our extinction event." Jenner said as if that was what would get us to understand.

But Carol's voice turned whatever doubt I had and pulled me back to reality. "This isn't right! You can't just keep us here!" I didn't want to die. And I sure as hell didn't want my family and friends to die either.

"One tiny moment, a millisecond. No pain." Jenner told her as if it were easy. As if death was all that we had left.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol cried.

"Wouldn't it be kinder?" Jenner asked. "To hold you loved ones and wait for the clock to run down."

The sound of a gun cocking caught my attention as my eyes landed on Shane.

"Shane! No!" dad started for him bot Shane just pushed him away.

"No. Stay out of my way Rick." he pointed the gun at Jenner as everyone else moved to stand away from them. "Open the door or I'm gonna blow your head off! Do you hear me!" dad leaned in and said something to Shane but I didn't hear it. I didn't want to hear anymore.

I grabbed the axe Shane had left on the ground and ran to the shutters, throwing the axe against them with all the strength I could. I didn't care if there was no way it would work. I just couldn't sit there and do nothing.

Even when the sounds of gun shots rang through the room, I never stopped hitting the door with the axe. My arms were sore from the vibrations, but I wouldn't give up.

"Victoria stop." Daryl said behind me as he tried to grab the axe.

I shook my head. "No. I can't."

His hand grasped the axe and turned me around so I was facing him. "Stop, you're going to hurt yourself."

"Daryl I'm scared." I admitted, a tear spilling out.

He nodded before taking the axe from my hands and taking over from where I had stopped. I watched as he threw the axe against the door with all his strength. I wouldn't have been surprised if the axe broke with how hard he was hitting the shutters.

Suddenly the doors opened.

Daryl turned to me, grabbing my hand before turning to the others "Come on! Come on, let's go!"

Glenn was the first to join us as everyone else followed. But I stopped in my tracks noticing that dad wasn't coming. Instead he was talking to Jenner.

"Victoria, come on. We've gotta go." Daryl nudged my arm, still holding my hand. But he didn't yell. Sure, he sounded worried and anxious, but he kept his voice low and gentle.

I shook my head. "Dad?!"

Mum ran to him before pulling him along.

"Hey! We've got four minutes left! Come on!" Glenn shouted, standing by Carl.

It was then that Daryl got me moving again. But before we got far I noticed there was a commotion behind us and I stopped once more, seeing T-Dog and Jacqui talking.

"I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy." Jacqui told him. "There's no time to argue. And no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out. Get out!" she pushed him away.

Shane grabbed T-Dog pulling him to the rest of us. "Come on, let's go. Let’s go!"

Daryl pulled on my arm but I wouldn't budge. Dale had moved to Jacqui, and it was then I noticed Andrea.

"Andrea, what are you doing?" I asked, moving towards her.

"I'm staying too." she said before turning away from us.

"Andrea no." Dale started for her, and I did the same. But he turned to the rest of us, and stopped me before I could go any further. "Daryl take her. All of you, just go. Go!" he ordered before we all went running; Daryl's arm around me, pulling me along.

"Andrea?" I yelled trying to go back. But Daryl's arm around me stopped me from getting away.

"Go on." he shouted at everyone.

We ran up the stairs, all of us exhausted and stressing. By the time we got to the room we had been in last night I could see the light, though everything was slightly blurred by my dizziness.

I was having a panic attack, something I had a lot of when I was young. But I hadn't had an attack in years. I stopped in my tracks, collapsing to the ground as Daryl and Shane ran to the window before hitting it with the axe.

"Vickie?" I heard Carl shout from a distance away.

I felt arms on me, and was slightly aware of my mum moving me towards a pillar so I could lean against it. "Victoria I need you to breathe, sweetie. Come on, you can do this."

In the distance I heard a gunshot before I felt another pair of hands on me. "Is she alright? What's wrong?" Daryl asked.

"She's having a panic attack." mum told him.

"What can I do? What do you need?" Daryl's voice seemed more frantic than ever before.

"Look out!" Shane's voice echoed through the room.

I looked over to my dad and saw him place a grenade by the window. "Mum get Carl." I told her, still out of breath. She moved to my brother who was by Carol and Sophia.

"Oh, sh...!" my dad came running towards us.

Daryl threw his arms around me, covering my body with his as a loud explosion went off before I heard the glass break.

"Come on." Daryl helped me up, pulling an arm around my waist so he could pick me up.

Carrying me he ran to the window, before handing me to my dad. He jumped out, gesturing for dad to hand me over. Once I was back in his arms he started running for his pick-up, all the while I was finding it harder and harder to breathe.

"Come on. Victoria it'll be alright. We're nearly there." I could hear him repeat as he ran.

The door to the pick-up flew open before he put me inside. He slammed the door shut and jumped into the driver's side, turning to me. "Come on. I need to you breath. I don't know what to do." he looked around for anything he could use.

I was trying to calm down, but my racing heart was over bearing us my pulse thrummed in my head. Trying my hardest I finally managed to speak. "Paper bag." I pointed to the glove box where I knew there was a paper bag.

He pulled it out and handed it to me before I placed it over my mouth and started to breath in and out, in it. Slowly my breathing got under control, as the dizziness died down and my pulse slowed.

Suddenly I felt a wave of heat rush over us before Daryl was pushed against me by a force. All the while the loudest explosion went off, as the CDC burst in to flames and crumbled; sending another wave over as Daryl was pushed against me more.

Once it was over he moved so he was looking at me. His eyes held a million emotions and I couldn't stop myself. I pushed myself forward pressing my lips against his.

He was tense at first, but before I could move away he put his hand behind my head, pressing me closer to him as he kissed me back. The kiss was fierce and needy. But behind it all, I could feel something else.

Before I could explore that feeling he pulled back and looked in my eyes. "You okay?"

I nodded.

With that he turned to his seat and started the car before following the others. I knew we had a long journey ahead of us, with dangers and troubles. But the only thing I could think about was that kiss...

**Bamby**

**The End...**


End file.
